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千嬌百媚 (1961)
Les Belles


Reviewed by: Stephe
Date: 01/27/2011

Les Belles, from 1961, is a Shaw Brothers film, starring Linda Lin Dai
and Peter Chen Ho, and is said to be one of Shaws' best musicals. I
watched it right after watching the 1959 Cathay film Cinderella and
Her Little Angels, which also starred Linda Lin Dai and Peter Chen Ho.

The real reason I obtained this VCD, though, is because of Fanny Fan
Lai being in it. Ever since I saw her bare backside shower scene (yes,
you see her fanny) and catfight with Lily Ho in Angel with the Iron
Fists (1967), I've been a Fanny Fan fan (hoo boy), and have sought out
anything she's in. Very few of her appearances are on disc. Others
would include Love Parade, The Magnificent Trio, The Golden Buddha
(featuring Jeanette Lin Cui's only appearance in a Shaw Bros film),
Summons to Death, and Diary of a Lady-Killer.

Anyways, Les Belles has Peter Chen as the director and lead male dancer
in a dance troupe, with Linda Lin Dai as the talented newcomer who butts
heads with him time and again. The production numbers are indeed among
the best I have seen from Cathay and Shaw Bros, but the story was really
lacking. The main hook of the plot has Peter placing personal ads in the
newspaper with Linda answering them, with neither knowing that it's the
other until the very end. Bleh. At least Fanny was fun as Linda's roommate.

Reviewer Score: 5